Step 6. Start House Hunting

Let’s review our home buying steps up to this point. You’ve got your finances in order, been pre-approved for a certain type of mortgage, found a good agent, and narrowed your search to a few select neighborhoods. Excellent! You’re ready for one of the most exciting steps to buying a home — the house hunting process.  As an agent I will email you every morning the homes that have just come on the market or just lowered the price in your criteria so you will have the most up to date information. I also have a Home Scouting Report Program that I will register you on. This program is a password protected site that you can go on 24/7 and find homes that fit your criteria. This program allows you to save your favorites in a notebook so if anything changes on the home you will be notified. You also can look at birds eye views of the home which were taken in real time. Awesome site! Please let me know if you would like me to get your registered.

Step 7. Making an Offer

Once you find a home you like, make an offer on it. For this home buying step, work closely with your agent to determine a reasonable offer amount based on recent, comparable sales in the area (referred to as “comps”).  As an agent, I will help you structure your offer to your needs. If you need closing costs paid for by the seller, I will make sure you get them.  I also work hand in hand with your lender to make sure the offer is asking for everything that you need to get a mortgage.

Step 8. Getting a Home Appraisal

To be honest, there’s not much you need to do for this next home buying step. Your lender will arrange for the appraisal, and you basically have to stand by and watch (while hoping that the home appraises for the price you’ve agreed to pay).  If for some reason the home doesn’t appraise for the purchase price we can negotiate with the sellers to have them lower the price to make it work.

Step 9. Get a Home Inspection

Having a  home inspection is a crucial step in the home buying process. It should not be skipped and I make sure all my clients get one done.  After all, it will give you the peace of mind of knowing what condition the home is truly in.  You never know what is wrong with the home unless you get an inspection. I once had a client that didn’t want to have one because it was just more money to put down. After I convinced him to have one done, he found out that the roof was leaking, the garage was not fire rated, and some outlets didn’t work. Because of the inspection, we were able to get the sellers to make the repairs and save my client a lot of money. It also let my client know he was buying a good home. I have heard horror stories of buyers not getting an inspection and after they move in they find out a ton a major problems with the home and wish they hadn’t bought it. OUCH!

Step 10. Settlement / Closing

Lastly, after all the paperwork, inspections and appraisal have been completed you get to meet at the Title Company and sign the final documents. This is called the Settlement. After both sides of the transaction have been completed and it funds and records, then you recieve the keys to your new home. YEAH!!! This is called the Closing.  This is the most exciting time and part of the process. It usually takes a day to fund and record so plan on moving into your new home the next day after your sign.